Topic: Aerohou Project Series (Read 280 times)

Disclaimer: This is a self-insert fanfic series involving yours truly. However, this was written years ago and isn't really up to snuff with my current writing. So, I've put this up here mostly for posterity and hey, why not?

Aerohou Project #1 The True Story of AeroSoft's History

The year: 2028,18 years since years since the founding of AeroSoft, then called Aero Games. Started off a pirated version of Gamemaker 8 and a couple of YouTube tutorials, which was 2010. In 2012, the company was renamed to AeroSoft. Of course, we're not gonna talk about those early days of nostalgia. Instead, we will discuss the story of how AeroSoft went from small to big in just five years.

The date was December 13th 2014, I woke up at two o'clock in the morning, nausea as usual. As I was chewing on some gum, I heard footsteps and quiet hushed talking. I sneaked into the kitchen, and turned on the lights.

There in front of me were two surprised women, both dressed strangely, one of them had what appeared to be nine fox tails coming from behind. The three of us stared at each other for what seemed for hours. Until I asked "Who and what are you two doing here." I said, gum to the side of my mouth.

The two women obviously had other intentions, but instead of escaping (I expected for them to jump out the backdoor or some random window) they offered me an opportunity. They leave and keep this event as a secret, or return with them and giving up my life at home. I chose the latter.

I took my computer, hard drive, several boxes of chai, any iDevices that I owned, wallet, and all required medication (sleeping aid and liver chelators), and the Lego model of what would become the "Super Mega Drive".

I said that I was ready and to my surprise one of them opened a gap, a to a place, a land severed off from the modern world, a land called Gensokyo. This had to be the least feasible thing today, and it was only 2:20 in the morning. If only I knew what was to come.

Through the gap I arrived at the woman's house. The woman introduced herself as Yukari Yakumo and the woman with the fox tails, Ran.

Gensokyo was a realm unlike any other. Sealed away by the Great Hakurei Barrier, is where human and youkai co-exist. The local youkai however, range on a varying scale of how dangerous they are, since some of them eat humans. There were things called Spell Cards which are special cards that were either used for offense or defense, involving something called danmaku. Also, apparently Gensokyo itself is located somewhere on the outskirts of Kyoto, so there's that.

I temporarily lived in the human village, for about a year. I had to redress AeroSoft for its new home. I slowly learned about the land, but I found out that there was an almost non-existent gaming industry. Save for the various things that filtered through the barrier and Yukari's gaps.

Six months later, I need some investment for getting AeroSoft afloat. I heard about the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I also needed to start figuring out how to use Spell Cards. So I went to this magician named Marisa Kirisame. Needless to say, she is kind of a kleptomaniac and she decided to bring me along to the mansion's library to steal some books.

I ended up meeting the librarian Patchouli, then the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi. Patchouli was pissed at Marisa for breaking into her library for the third time this week. I asked who was the person who lived here, specifically who owned the mansion. So Sakuya took me to her mistress, Remilia Scarlet.

"I have something that you might like." I said, which surprised both women, mostly Sakuya.

"...Go on." Replied Remilia,

I promptly pulled out my computer bag that I kept safe under the back of shirt and show her three games.

One was about a box creature that fighting against a just as block scientist (Boxman the Boxian), and RPG about there guys saving a land of ponies from a raging dictator (Brony Quest: When Nazis Attack), and finally a horror maze game that involved a guy exploring a mansion of unspeakable origin (Creepypasta Mansion).

Remilia was impressed with the first two. The last one just couldn't hold her attention as much as the last two did. "I could show you more, and make more like these. But, I need some investment to keep making them." I explained after the demonstration ended.

"What investment?" She asked.

I remember that Gensokyo had little to no tech industry, let alone a gaming industry...Just yet. I spent a good while lecturing about what it is, and the things needed for such a thing.

I expected a very tepid reaction from them. But needless to say, I got some support from her. But to prove that I can be trusted worthy of said support, I had to show her any or all progress of the projects I had or would be doing.

I was off to start work when she stopped me. Remilia got up and walked towards and said "One more thing before you leave."

She motioned Sakuya to get some bandages, and then she suddenly bit me. I held in my scream (but it was mostly the swearing I was restraining), she was sucking my blood. Despite being similar to a blood draw it hurt much more and for longer. After she let go, she rubbed her tongue, probably because of a copper aftertaste.

I left with a sore arm, but ready nonetheless, to start an industry like no other. I spent the next year developing games and showing Remilia. Some of which already made (Brony Quest 2: Day of Lavos) or resumed production on (Brony Quest 3 ad Emergency Landing) or already in development (AS: The Day Earth Glitched, Boxman the Boxian 2, and two unnamed RPGS).

It was early into my second year of being in Gensokyo When I was stopped by Yukari. "I heard what you have been doing." Yukari said, surprising me in my studio.

"What? ABout the game I have been busy with?" I replied, caught completely off guard.

Yukari, unlike many of the youkai or humans that lived here, has been outside of Gensokyo, mainly for abducting humans for local cosumption, and at one point, gapping new people in. So she knew exactly what I've been doing and producing.

"I have one question to ask, how are you gonna use it?" Yukari questioned.

I sighed, "With this thing" showing her the Lego model of the Super Mega Drive. "Sadly...This thing is only a model and so far there is no way any of the Gensokyo masses could really use it for." Then an idea popped into my 17 year old mind.

"Say, do you always use your gaps to enter and exit Gensokyo" I said, wondering.

"Uhhh...Yes why asked me that" Yukari was surprised by the question and yet intrigued by it.

"We could use your gaps to 'borrow' the items need to produce an actual console like this!" I explained.

I thought I'd put the future of my existence in jeopardy by suggesting stealing plastic and electronic components. But instead she agreed to such a strange heist.

I, Yukari, Ran, and a friend of Yukari, Yuyuko Saigyouji, raided a plastics factory and several large computer specialty shops. Both locations were of my accord, I took the materials; the other three kidnapped the humans for future youkai consumption.

When I got back I started work on the prototype. I melted the stolen plastic pellets into boiling goo. While I arranged the PCB and the power supply, it took me a week to make the first hundred units. Then I showed the hardware off to the vampire aristocrat, Remilia.

She was most impressed by the hardware since she was beginning to get bored with the software I was showing before. "I will start selling this device in two weeks' time." I said with an excited expression.

Before I left after the meeting ended I asked, "Say, are there any newspapers around here?"

"There's one or two around here, the only one I can think of is the Bunbunmaru Newspaper." Remilia answered.

She told me about who does the paper and I left shortly after. I had to find a tengu named Aya. It didn't take me long to find her as she was reporting about some minor thing that had happened. I asked her if she was indeed Aya (stupid question, I know. But it worked!). She said yes, and I told that I can show her something amazing and newsworthy.

I took her to where I was working and show her the boxes of Super Mega Drives piled up in a somewhat unkempt manner. I showed the console itself, I told her about the launch titles, and let her play the games. The next day, the article appeared. It made headlines, and the hype train suddenly left the station at an infinite speed. Gensokyo will have its first video game release.

I worried when the fortnight ended, what if such a tentative thing won't work. I warily made plans for it, a midnight release tomorrow. It worked.

Very few humans if any at all ever went and bought the machine, but many of local youkai and some of the fairies came out to buy it (exceptions were Yukari and Remilia since I gave them freebies as a thank you gift for helping me this far). The Super Mega Drive was a hit.

The launch titles are as follows: Boxman the Boxian, Brony Quest: When Nazisa Attack, Creepypasta Mansion, and Tiny Tower (a port of an iOS game that I played). The next week was followed by: Thunder Gun, The YouTube Poop World, Super Crate Box, and Ahriman's Treasure (ports of various games I played from Gamejolt.com).

The next year was spent releasing games and incorporating. The board of directors was founded (Remilia Scarlet and Yukari Yakumo) and a special newsletter (published via Aya). However this got the attention of Reimu Hakurei, a miko that lived near the barrier. She was having a negative attitude to the whole AeroSoft thing when she saw two fairies, Cirno and Sunny Milk, fighting over the Super Mega Drive.

Reimu confronted me about the situation. I gave her a tour of the studio in hope of her not being alienated and acting in a inclement manner (she already was and I knew exactly why: this whole AeroSoft thing was new to her and Reimu thought something bad and evil was happening). Over the next three years, she began to warm up and get used to it and even saving me after I had left Gensokyo.

By now the demand of games and consoles were going pretty strong, Terraria (basically a 2D Minecraft game) was released to an extremely large amount of praise. I hand make the cartridges (I use a heavily modified proprietary USB 3.0 instead of ROM boards) and consoles (I still have scars from handling hot plastic).

I had heard about a shy kappa that had amazing engineering skills. That kappa was Nitori Kawashiro. I found her, but she had ran away, I lured her out with cucumbers and that worked.

I told her I would give her a large supply of cukes if she would solve my problem. She built me three machines that would mass produce controllers, cartridges, and Super Mega Drives. Nitori would later be the lead hardware engineer.

When I showed her some of the games, she was not impressed. She said "Why do all the games look so flat?"

I was expecting, even hoping that someone would question its 3D capabilities. This resulted in me porting Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, along with Brony Quest 3, Tetris, and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker HD (A remake of the Sega Genesis game). By year's end, Nitori would make her take of the Super FX chip that the SNES used. The NUFX chip (Nitori's Ultra FX Chip) would allow for graphics that slightly less superior to the PS2, and used for a kart racing game based on the show, Wacky Races, Boxman the Boxian 3D, Doom 2, and Duke Nukem 3D.

My fourth of my year started with me showing my benevolent side. Donating a large cartload of money to the Hakurei Shrine (literally) and starting a special needs fund (after observing more of Cirno's idiot-like behavior and as a "take that!" to Reed).

I was beginning my plan to bring AeroSoft back to America and see if the Super Mega Drive would work. Even augmenting it to the point of being an entirely different console, and I finished teaching Reisen how to develop for the Super Mega Drive.

I met Reisen Udongein Inaba while delivering a small shipment to a place called Eientei, a mansion that's in a middle of a large bamboo forest. She took a technical interest to the console and I taught her how to code for it. Then she taught some of the other rabbits that lived and worked at Eientei. This in turn spawned the first "third party" developer. The person that was in charge, was Eirin Yagokoro, Eirin was nothing short of a medical genius and I had run out of meds at this point, and I was loading up on dangerous amount of copper in my liver.

Eirin created a medicine that made me literally excrete copper nuggets. (My Wilson's Disease was almost completely undetectable within several weeks).

I had learned much about Gensokyo's history and started to make games based off the various incidents that had happened. Some of which were popular, then I stopped making games based on such events. "Diamond in the Rough" was a relatively good game, awesome graphics, great sound, and even greater gameplay. But the event was based around (The Brolli Diamondback incident that influenced the stopping of gapping in humans). Production of the cartridge were ceased within a month, nowadays copies of the game are expensive and whatever copies do make it to the states exceed $600,000.

I was gapped in because Yukari didn't want to admit to the fact that she was going to kidnap my dad; I had forgiven her when she finally did tell.

The rest of the fourth year had nothing noteworthy. The fifth and final year was marked by a fallow release calendar. I temporarily left AeroSoft in control of Yukari and Remilia, even telling them that I will go back to the company when it's ready to spread to America.

I left Gensokyo, to a very nasty surprise. I was treated to a very large truancy charge. Apparently, after all the years of commenting against the staff of my school, Dr. Cohen finally had something to get back at me.

"Payback with back pay" seemed to be the mood of the setting in the courthouse, at least to the plaintiff.

It was a dour day for me; I had little fortitude against Dr. Cohen's testimony. He brought up all the comments I said against him and the staff of my school, I now face charges of truancy and slander (I'm not sure if that counts as assault and battery). Just when I was about to face the music, the end of the AeroSoft dream which was looking to be a giant crashing fiery heap of wasted time and energy. Two mysterious women entered the court, both wearing shade and a suit, one had black hair the other one was blonde.

They both seemed familiar, the blonde's voice was similar to...no couldn't be, can it? They brought in a...Super Mega Drive? They brought in charts and picture about...AeroSoft? Both wore a pin that was a promotional item for a subscription of Bunbunmaru Newspaper. I suddenly recognize the two as Yukari and Reimu (Yukari was the only one speaking and Reimu kinda just stayed there for support).

The judge was surprised, the jury was surprised, Dr. Cohen was suprised, everyone was surprised.

"Impossible! They're lying! How can someone irresponsible enough to take an illegal five year sojourn from the educational system be able to successfully start a corporation that big!" said Dr. Cohen in complete shock.

"To call of this case how about we pay you for...let's say, damages?" Yukari responded.

"1,000 ye...dollars!" started Yukari.

"$2,000...$5,000...$10,000...$50,000...$100,000" continued Yukari with an insidious grin.

The plaintiff was beginning to feel uncomfortable at the thought of the woman bribing Dr. Cohen.

"...$1,000,000" Yukari said before being cut off by the judge.

"Sile...Sile...SILENCE!" exclaimed the judge, who had a concerning stutter.

I was getting suspicious of the judge after the stutter; I jumped out of the box and grabbed for something from the judge. The guards were about to restrain me, but they saw the small tin bottle I was holding. That bottle had belonged to the judge.

To make a long story short, I went off scot-free after the drunken judge was exposed. Dr. Cohen left embarrassed and wore a stolid expression when he drove off. I restrained myself from hugging the gap youkai (Yukari) and the Shinto shrine maiden (Reimu). I thanked them both, and asked them why they wanted to save me.

"Me and Remilia have some conflicting views about the way your AeroSoft business was going to, So I and Reimu went to get you back." Yukari explained.

"Well I was going to bring AeroSoft back here, my home. Everyone in Gensokyo can still have my games and consoles, But I'll have the main headquarters be here." I said.

"The old headquarters will become a branch for the company." I added.

A month later, I bought out a large office building in Natick. Two years laters, I released the Super Mega Drive 2 (which used HVDs [Holographic Versatile Discs] instead of USB cartridges). Three months after that was the last game for the Super Mega Drive, a bowling game based off the Ebola scare of 2014, the game was only released in Gensokyo to avoid any trouble with the American public.

I added my brother, Trevor to the board of directors as well as Michael Scotton (I added him because of a promise I made him) and several of the largest shareholders (but due to the colorful cast of characters there, they rarely ever come).

That brings us to the present, 2028. That is my story of my company from the start (very briefly) to how things are today. Someday I'll leave my company to my son, as well as the secrets that lay beyond the Great Hakurei Barrier. Thank you for reading.

Due to the popularity of how the AeroSoft dream rocketed off to stardom, I might as well tell you on how AeroSoft went to take on the larger yet riskier global gaming market.“it’s ready.” said Nitori Kawashiro.“The new console?” said Trevor.“Yes, it is, Mr. ‘PC Gaming Master Race!’” I said mockingly.It was about five months before E3 2020, E3 being one of the largest video game conventions to ever exist. The Eighth generation of video game consoles were pretty much on the way out. Nintendo had released their Ninth generation contender: The Fusion. The kappa motioned us into the hardware lab. There it was, in a stately manner, the final version of the Super Mega Drive 2. “Here is it, the Super Mega Drive 2.” Nitori announced to the group. The Super Mega Drive 2 looked like an original PlayStation with a CD drive (the kind you would find in a computer tower) thrown on. But it used HVD’s (Holographic Versatile Discs), so it could hold up to 2 Terabytes of data. The black console practically gleamed in front of us. Yukari was asleep in the recreation room; I went in to wake her up. Just in time before some of the more immature workers were about to draw something phallic on the side of her cheek. “Hmmm..what?” she said, waking up. “The SMD 2, it’s ready and I thought you would want to see it.” I said. “Maybe later.” Yukari said before gapping herself away, presumably somewhere where she could sleep. We’ve had our Headquarters in Natick for a while now, the old one in Gensokyo had been demoted to a company branch, and I’m still in charge of it. The Gensokyo branch has only one R&D facility (The Natick HQ has four) and a new warehouse for keeping stock of games and consoles.

Soon, it was E3. We were last, just after Microsoft. There was a pungent feeling of unfeigned confusion within the crowd upon hearing about us. Finally, it was my time to go on stage and tell the world about AeroSoft. The patrons enter the giant room with the stage in front, it was dark. Then the lights came on, showing a cardboard wall decorated with the names of companies that at one point in time, made consoles. An instrumental of ‘Wrecking Ball’ came on. Then I said the phrase “I came like a Wrecking Ball!”I rode a large ball and chain with AeroSoft’s logo printed on it. The large black ball destroyed the cardboard. After the little stunt, I noticed that Remillia was there. “How’s the show so far?” I asked.“I can’t think of anything to describe it.” Remillia responded.“Well, this is just the beginning!” I proclaimed to the vampire aristocrat. I came back on stage, after the boxes were cleaned up. I had the odds in my favor. Sony’s PlayStation 5 is clinging onto its’ aging Blu-Ray format and Microsoft’s Xbox Next is using just digital downloads. “Thank you for coming here today!” I greeted the audience. “Here at AeroSoft, we think that video game business is not about how much detail you can put into your UHD graphics or how big they are, its’ about overall quality and good gameplay.” I added, to a crowd that was growing concerned. “Don’t think of our new console as new way to play Call of Duty, think of it as device that can achieve the highest of your fantasies. We don’t have a specific demographic to sell to.” I said to the crowd, who was disappointed at this point. “We aim to provide the best of gaming, either if your nerd or a jock. White or Black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American, if you’re gay or heterosexual, if you’re a male or female.” I raved. “Our console is for the hard workers, the hobbyist, the husband, the wife, the otaku fanatic, the Super Mega Drive 2 IS the people’s console!” I finished. The audience started clapping wildly. The rest of the show was spent showing off the technical prowess and the games. “Our console will be on store shelves internationally this coming year!” I finished.I was in the convention center’s back room with Remillia when some ardent investors came to us. They wanted to invest in my company, but they weren’t sure if I was going to release a video game console or an electronic UN diplomat that you’d plug into a TV. I reassured them by saying it was a marketing campaign that would probably blow over in a couple months.

Back in Gensokyo, I announced the console. It was held at AeroCon 135 (Gensokyo Lunar Calendar year). It was held at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or at least on the ground of the building. I said that support for the Super Mega Drive would continue but first party support for games will dwindle. However, I’d promised everybody that I’ll release an add-on that would play all the SMD games on the Super Mega Drive 2. I handed over Reisen the development kits. “Why do we need this?!” she exclaimed, “The SMD was fine enough!” “Ah Ms. Inaba, the Super Mega Drive 2 has more features and is a much more powerful device.” I explained. Reisen just glared at me as she left AeroCon with the dev kits in hand. I felt that once the SMD 2 comes out, I’d prove my point with the moon rabbit in question.

The AeroSoft HQ in Natick, MA was booming! All four R&D departments were busy programing and designing our launch titles. I had called a meeting with the board of directors. “I’d like to mention that we are now allocating 90% of our resources to the SMD 2” I proudly announced to room of humans and youkai. “How better is the SMD 2 compared to my gaming PC.” Trevor said, in a rather sophomoric way. “Does your PC have HVD support and a proprietary Wi-Fi network.” I answered his quarry. “Is it upgradable for new graphics cards AND water cooled!” Trevor abhorred me and my console. “No, but my so called ‘peasant potato’ isn’t about an egotistical stubborn power contest unlike your ‘PC Gaming Master Race!’” I angrily retorted.“SHUT UP!” Yukari yelled, and promptly stood up from her chair. The room went silent, Remillia looked at her in astonishment and Michael Scotton just sat lowly in his chair, as if he were trying to hide under the table. Yukari grabbed for a spell card and glared visiously at Trevor. Trevor crossed his arms and looked to his side. “Now c’mon, the Super Mega Drive 2 is going to be released in 17 months from now!” Michael spoke up. “We have to work together if this going to work out properly!” “He was a point you know” added Remillia. “Okay, you two have a point.” I said, giving into an Aesop you’d find in a cartoon. “What do we have for multiplat’s?” I started. “We have Grand Theft Auto 7, and Assassin’s Creed 12 and 13.” Trevor said. “Anything else?” “No, you pretty much pissed Activison off and well, anybody who makes FPS games.”“Damn, any other third party support?” I asked.“Other than Eientei Studios?” Remillia butted in.“Uhhhh…no, third party developers NOT from Gensokyo!” I clarified.“Ubisoft is interested in us, Blizzard enjoyed our E3 presentation, and then there’s SEGA, Bandai Namco Games, Bungie, Retro Studios, Capcom, and Rockstar Games.” Michael read from his report.“We’ll probably get more when this puppy comes out.” I responded to the report.“How are things on the Gensokyo side of things?” I asked. “No one likes how your simply replacing the Super Mega Drive and they’re questioning its power.” Yukari said. The omnipotent youkai was right. While no one elsewhere in the world has heard much of the SMD, Gensokyo is holding on tight to the obsolete piece of machinery. I had to remind them, that it’s only 90% focus on the SMD 2, and there still is 10% on the Super Mega Drive. The rest of the year flew by. The Super Mega Drive 2’s release date was fast approaching, a select number of shops in Gensokyo have been stocked with units, ready to sell at a moment’s notice. My speech at E3 was poignant and I didn’t even have an inkling of how meaningful my spontaneous words meant to people. I was having an interview with Forbes magazine (they still print those) and asked what if I had a nickname or something from my uniqueness in the industry, I noticed Yukari talking to Ran in the other room, my eyes drifted towards Ran. “Uhhh…The Kitsune on Overbrook Terrace” I said, referencing the ‘Wolf on Wall Street’. Soon the day came; the Super Mega Drive had 13 launch titles and sold off the shelves during the holiday rush. The same was said in Gensokyo, albeit with a feeling of being cheated. The cheated feeling soon went away as soon as they loaded one of the games. “Ah ha! We sold over 15 million units!” Trevor exulted. “But that’s just the Christmas rush, we got to wait a couple months if people still want our products” I said, doubtfully. Ran told me to cheer up and gave me a cup of sake. “To AeroSoft!” I toasted. “To AeroSoft!” Everyone else said. Glasses clinked and we drank. I had to answer phone calls from major retail companies about shortages of SMD 2 units; I reassured them that new units would come in by next week. The next year saw a jump in AeroSoft’s international market share. We went up 40% and beat Nintendo as top company. We stood at 57%. One day I had to address to two of my more deviant workers. “You can’t be selling drugs on company property!” I said bluntly. “But the guys in R&D smoke grass all the time!” one of them said. “But they use what they bring in! And you two are…FIRED!” I yelled. “We’ll take our revenge on you! You’ll see!” the other on said before spitting on my nameplate that was on the desk. I didn’t take them seriously until that fateful summer party. It was summer of 2021, and I held a big party for the top people of my company. The party was going along decently until everyone noticed the bowl of Kool-Aid I made. Needless to say, pretty much all of us drank it. But someone had laced it with something. I can’t remember much about what happened after we all drank the tainted punch. I do remember what happened AFTER the party. I woke up in my bed, I don’t know how I got there but I felt rested and that was okay. I went to stretch my arm when I felt something or rather someone, especially when I heard a voice “Nē, anata no ude o oriru! (Hey, get your arm off!)”. I turned over and saw…Patchouli? We both jumped when we saw each other. It was probably the most awkward moment I’ve had for years. We must’ve looked at each other for five or ten minutes straight before I went downstairs. It was a total mess. Remillia somehow got duct taped to the ceiling by her wings. Yukari was asleep so nothing unusual there, except she was in the neighbor’s tree, luckily she was well concealed so no one ever knew the Gap Youkai was sleeping in that tree. Ran, had to leave early to deal with Chen but came back to help me deal with damage control. Not to mention that Meling, the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s gatekeeper was at the front door (Sakuya threw a couple knives at her to prevent Meling from entering the house, Sakuya was found in the room where all my old games are, with the Atari 2600 left on.). Meiling claimed to have noticed some strange activity going on across the street, with two men and a small plastic bag.

“Was the job a success?” said a man in the darkness. An old basement with a wall covered in news articles about AeroSoft and a folding table with maps and models of the Metrowest area. “Yes, the product was administered.” Said one of two former AeroSoft employees. “Soon, the drugs will send that troublemaker into greed and addiction like the ‘Wolf on Wall Street!’” the mysterious man said before letting out a small laugh. The man threw a dart at the picture of the company’s owner, Anatasios Frank Topham. “No one would ever take me seriously after that recalcitrant debacle you’d call a court case!” “But sir, remember the plan?” the second former employee responded. “Yes…We must act accordingly and all above, fast” The three men laughed at the fact they’ll send the gaming entrepreneur packing or even better…his grave.

The Super Mega Drive 2 was the bestselling console of its generation. Third party support was extremely strong and still sold well when its competitors released their consoles. In Gensokyo, everyone was impressed at the improvements the device had over its predecessor. Even Reimu Hakurei gave in and owned one these puppies (it was a gift from her friend, Marisa Kirisame). Some say that when AeroSoft first appeared in Gensokyo, it helped to create a long period of time without any youkai incidents. Until two years later.

Two years had passed, it was currently the year 2024. AeroSoft experienced major growth during that period of time. To transport people and items between the HQ in Natick and the branch in Gensokyo, Nitori had to invent a special machine an artificial gap if you will. I was dating the librarian from the Scarlet Devil Mansion at the time this happened. Someone managed to reverse engineer the proprietary Wi-Fi signal the SMD 2 used (it’s the only type of Wi-Fi connection that can penetrate the Great Hakurei Barrier). That same person managed to get the location of Yukari’s home through the Wi-Fi and broke into the AeroSoft HQ building. Luckily no one was home when that man burned down the Yakumo household. The burning of Yukari’s home created uproar among the other youkai. This would defiantly affect my business as a good chunk of income came from Gensokyo (because there is a strong lack of a centralized government, so there is no income tax unlike America). In the morning I received a letter:Dear, whom it may concern.Your time is nigh. If you don’t give up yourCompany and pay me five billion dollars, you’llPay the ultimate price for you and your foreignBuddies.Not entirely Sincere,Dr. Edward Cohen.“I guess people can hold grudges for that long.” said Trevor.“No, I didn’t know that?” I said, sarcastically.“Oh c’mon! Besides, what is going to do to you and the guys from Gensokyo anyway?” Trevor said.I didn’t really take Dr. Cohen’s letter seriously, until a week later. We had heightened security, not because we had a handheld device being developed but rather the chance of someone breaking in and using the artificial gap machine. The cameras caught three men breaking in and using the machines, only to come back within the next two hours. What they did was amazing.Remiu Hakurei went to check on her donation box at her shrine. It was always empty but I usually leave something along the lines of a check in there. She opened the box and what looked like a tin can jumped out and exploded in her face. Remiu was caught off guard and was sent flying through the front door. The sound of splintered wood and ripped paper followed the ear piercing bang. She was found unconscious by Marisa.Meiling Hong was guarding the entryway to the Scarlet Devil Mansion when she found a box. She opened to find a car battery hooked up to a pressure cooker. Needless to say, she was found by Sakuya. Both she and Reimu were quickly sent to Eientei to be seen by Eirin Yagokoro. We saw Dr. Cohen in the security footage but we couldn’t tell who the other two guys were. Until Trevor used the company’s worker database to find out it was the two guys I fired for selling drugs on AeroSoft property. The news spread and I was called upon by Remillia to discuss the matter. Yukari and Remiu where there (Remiu had around 47% of body covered in banages). The mood of the room was ominous. “We have talked it over and decided that you might be the cause of these recent events.” Started Remillia. “No thanks to you, I nearly got killed by own donation box” said Reimu bitterly. Yukari said nothing; she was the only one who wasn’t putting the blame of two bombings on me. Then I went and proved my point. “If you take me and AeroSoft out and away from Gensokyo…” I began. “You’ll take away the distractions the youkai use to prevent each other from killing each other or doing something that would have a negative effect on everyone else…” I continued “Also, AeroSoft is Gensokyo only corporation. Gensokyo would experience its first economic recession and almost everything would go to hell! Furthermore, if any of AeroSoft’s technology get into the hands of anyone in this dystopian hellhole that is Gensokyo’s future. This war will turn global, not even the military of my homeland could stand up to your spell cards.” I said stunning Reimu. I had proved my point, Gensokyo would turn into a glorified hellhole. Youkai could escape through the artificial gaps and kill off the outside human population. “Besides, I have tabs on the terrorists who dare tried to convert my company and your home into a flaming wreck!” “All I ask is that at least one of you would help me expunge these no-goodniks.” I suggested. “Fine I’ll help you.” Said Reimu.

It was night when we approached the dilapidated building. Me and Reimu hid in the series of bushes lining the bleached, grass laden parking lot. Reimu went ahead, gohei in hand. “Nobody’s here.” Remiu pointed out. “Did you check the basement lights?” I rebutted. We sneaked to the bulkhead when we heard voices. “The bombs kill anyone?” said one voice “No sir.” Said another voice, meekly. “The drugs didn’t work and the bombs didn’t work! Do we really need to extirpate both him and that foreign so called ‘fantasy land’ he gets his allies from!” boomed the previous voice. Remiu summoned these two yin-yang orbs and shot up the bulkhead door and we rushed into the musty basement. “FREEZE!” I yelled. “One wrong step and the miko next to me will end you!” “So you finally came to ruin my plans for revenge” said Dr. Cohen. “Why did you bomb the Hakurei Shrine and the Scarlet Devil Mansion?” I asked. “Remember that court session? Long ago.” He started “After your blonde friend bribed me, everyone either ridiculed me for being cheap or distrusting me for being corrupt. Everyone started treating me differently; even the towns slowly gave my school less and less money. Fewer students came; the Resident Program became largely redundant. All because of you, you ended my known life.” “But there was no given verdict, the judge was drunk and…” I rebutted. “And I’m going to end yours!” Cohen interrupted “But it wasn’t my fault!” I said. He took out a Desert Eagle and started to shoot. Reimu jumped in front and used the orb beside her to shoot back at him. The wooden beam above collapsed over us and the basement caved in and we both escaped with minor scratches. When the police came and the debris got cleaned up, they only found the injured body of one of the two former employees. Meaning that the other one and Dr. Cohen are in hiding.

At E3 2025, I announced the release of the Pocket Drive, a Super Mega Drive reduced to the size of the original Gameboy Advance. AeroCon as at Eientei in 2025 and Reisen was finally no longer bent over having to develop for a system that she thought was “Too demanding”. The Pocket Drive was released in 2026 with overly positive reception, even beating Nintendo’s dominance in the handheld gaming sector. I proposed to Patchouli during a trade show when I demonstrated a new game and I had intentionally modified the game to pop the question as well as pushing the gameplay and technological capabilities of the SMD 2. Someone took a video of it and blew up on YouTube (since all the people who did let’s play videos lost almost all their popularity during the “Pewdiepie Crash of 2019”).

Of course I probably didn’t know that the more violent events of the past couple years was foreshadowing things to come. The integrity of AeroSoft and Gensokyo being threatened by forces that don’t like us in the least, there’s the point that Reimu pointed out was that the peace was too reliant on AeroSoft.

Of course, I’ll leave that for next time. On behalf of me, Gensokyo, and the guys at AeroSoft, Keep your stick on the ice. –A. Frank Topham Senior

As you may already know, AeroSoft is the leading brand of video gaming. Besting Nintendo (the leading company before the SMD 2 was released). So seeing how some interesting new things are happening in both AeroSoft and Gensokyo. I might as well tell. Patchouli accepted my proposal and we got married the following week. Our honeymoon was spent roaming around Europe, starting in Britain. I even ordered a private train on Tallyllyn Railway. But things got weird considering our living conditions.I lived primarily in Massachusetts, Natick to be exact. Patchouli lived in Gensokyo, both of which are fine. But Patchy worked as a resident librarian at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Meaning she is kinda required to be there. I spent most of our time in Germany discussing with Remillia over places of living. The ultimatum became that we had to live similarly to a divorced couple, going between the two places. It was weird at first.But when I got back to work after four weeks of European travel, I returned to the AeroSoft scene. AeroSoft now has a 67% market share in the industry and we just released the Pocket Drive with flying colors, at least in terms of response. About 15 games where available at release (eight of which were made by Eientei Studios).But when I got back, there was some controversy going on. With AeroSoft being an international corporate giant, it comes as no surprise as that also comes with having to deal with people who beset you on the pretense of being morally unacceptable. In this case it was the Midwestern United States. I have spent most of my time with people who believe in eastern religions (Taoism, Shinto, and Buddhism being the three biggest), as such I have more experience in dealing with them. Then again, most of the population is made up of youkai which in turn makes my point in a sort of moot state.Christianity on the other hand is a bit touchy. So I came to Grand Island, Nebraska to calm down the fears of my company teaching “Demonic” or “sinful” values to people, such as impressible children in the area. I took to the podium on looking the angry populace with picket signs and banners demeaning my company. Yukari came, good thing too.“Gay devil lover!” said one woman.“Corporate scum!” said a man in the far back.I began to talk, “I jolly well know why I’m here, to tell you that our games aren’t pedaling immoral junk!”“Besides almost 45% of our current game library for the SMD 2, are from foreign lands, mainly Japan.”That last sentence was meant to tell people about cultural differences, instead it made the crowd even angrier.“Jap worshipper!” said another guy.The acrid xenophobia rang out amongst the angry mob.“I didn’t mean it like that!” I explained myself.I noticed Yukari becoming irritated by the comments. Then suddenly, a loud bang came out of nowhere. Followed by more, I had forgotten all about the NRA. I ran off the platform and into a nearby building.“C’mon! C’mon! Yukari! Please make a gap!” I said, anxiety filling up with fear of death.“I’m trying!” said Yukari.We escaped before the mob could find us. The events that followed soon resulted in the destruction of any shops containing video games (software and hardware) and the creation of massive plastic scented fires. This event became known as the “AeroSoft-Nebraska Incident”.Business went as usual after that. The board of directors met at the end of the first quarter.“How’s Gensokyo?” I asked.“The Pocket Drive seems successful.” Remillia replied.“Great! Is there anything else?”“Aya’s become wary of the sales of “AeroSoft Weekly”.”AeroSoft Weekly is a magazine published through a then newly made subsidiary of Bunbunmaru Newspaper that was co-founded by well, Frank Topham.The magazine was created after the indelible release of the Super Mega Drive. But because of the Super Mega Drive 2’s internet capabilities, we created a weekly video series called “AeroSoft Direct” which pretty much summed up the content of the magazines each week. Aya got pissed off because people where choosing to watch the free video over paying a monthly subscription.“Why are you doing this!” Aya said angrily.“It’s not like I have plans to stop the magazine.” I rationalized.“You better not!” Aya responded.The headaches didn’t last for long, as Aya was appeased by having the magazine having exclusive content that wouldn’t be featured in the weekly newscast.The SMD 2 was now deep into its life cycle. Seeing how its predecessor lasted for a long time, it was no surprise that the hardware labs won’t be making console prototypes for a very long time. As such I took in some inspiration from an old movie I remembered and the Oculus Rift (A virtual reality headset). I tasked Nitori with producing a device that would somehow; download one’s conscience into a virtual environment. Nitori looked at me with confusion.“What do you mean?” Nitori said.“I mean putting your mind into a game.” I replied.“I know that. But I mean how I’m gonna do it?”“Well, you did manage to help build a giant mech once. Surely you can construct the matrix!”“I’ll try.” Nitori said, unsure of herself. I went around asking people to name the machine. Trevor suggested the “Steam Machine”, but I finally came up with Online Gaming Matrix Server (OGMS).

“AeroSoft is staffed by terrorists?” suggested Bill Bluoni, a former AeroSoft employee. “What about, AeroSoft’s consoles have flammable parts?” said Ben Redoni, another former AeroSoft employee, also fired for selling drugs. Ben had been injured when the celling of an old basement caved onto him. He still wore some casts from the debacle. A third man was in the room. His tacit disposition has been part of him since his defeat. He often ruminated on how to trenchantly quell AeroSoft. Suddenly he spoke out loud, “I need to go back in Gensokyo!” “But Dr. Cohen, security’s been raised there. We can’t go back!” rebutted Bill. “But I have two programmers who defected from there. So you two have inside information.” said Dr. Cohen looking outside into rain from the window. “Maybe I can hack into their system.” Suggested Ben. “What about the blonde haired woman. Yukari Yakumo, what does she do exactly?” Dr. Cohen questioned. “All I know is that she moves into and out of Gensokyo through these gaps she creates.” Bill answered. “Theoretically, we can go through her gaps…” The two defectors giggled. “Shut Up!” he yelled. “We can go through her gaps and go into Gensokyo!” The three men were elated at the new plan. But Dr. Cohen’s real reason was to learn its secrets. Maybe get the youkai to revolt or learn about these things called Spell Cards.

It was rather uneventful day in Gensokyo. I was staying at the Scarlet Devil Mansion for the weekend with Patchouli. Usually something droll would happen, involving some youkai making some minor trouble or something amusing would happen. But it was the aftereffects of AeroSoft’s Super Mega Drive that kept everything quiet. “Reimu’s right…” I said to myself. “I guess AeroSoft really has changed Gensokyo. I’m not sure if it’s for worse or better.” “Maybe’s neither.” said a voice. It was Remillia’s sister, Flandre. Flandre was once upon a time, locked in the basement. She was kept there for reasons that Remillia never really elucidated on to me. Flandre was notoriously destructive, she could see the “eye” of one object and obliterate it, destroying the object in question. But she had a particularly hard time destroying the SMD 2. Apparently, due to how it’s constructed, the “eye” is masked during the manufacturing process making destruction through Flan’s means difficult. Even when the eye is found, no two consoles were alike, unless there was a flaw, such as a faulty disc drive or a broken fuse. “It’s nothing Flan-chan.” I said to her. “Really? You look like something’s wrong.” She replied. Maybe she was right, then again. There’s Dr. Cohen, I haven’t heard from him in a while. Patchy came in and saw me. Flandre wandered off into the expansive halls of the mansion. I told her maybe there is something wrong with Gensokyo, but she gave me the two sides of the argument. I felt better knowing that there was at least one thing that was for the better.

The Natick HQ was busy, all four R&D department were working on new titles with much alacrity. New Brony Quest and Boxman sequel were down the line. Plus, SEGA’s cooperation with us to make the new Space Harrier and Phantasy Star remakes (AeroSoft exclusives by the way). The only thing bad was a very slight drop in Gensokyo sales (Only Hardware declined by 1.19%). The Super Pocket Drive was formidable against Nintendo’s 4DS, and we have already obliterated the PS Vita 2. We even opened a new office on the west coast. AeroSoft’s Californian building mostly dealt with translating games and having to do in part with our “Universal Release” policy. But they do make games since they also have four R&D departments. Early one morning, I got a call around 2:34 AM (Or at least, what my phone said) from one of the security guys saying that the cameras got jammed, and some loud sounds had been made. Patchouli was staying at my place, and she was half asleep when I jumped out of bed to deal with a nondescript matter. She just kinda mumbled something and went back to sleep. One of the security guys had been waiting for me. He show me the broken window and then the monitors which showed nothing but snow. But one thing caught my eye. The artificial gap machine had been recently used. The guy standing there didn’t check or really notice. “Who used this?” I said. “No one was here but me and the two others.” said the security guard. “Really?” I said with sarcasm. I checked the history: 2:28 AM, UNKOWN SUBJECT, TRANSFER COMPLETED. “See! I told you!” I explained. “Who do you think it might be, sir?” “I can only think of one man.”

“I’m in.” radioed Dr. Cohen. “Alright, just go wander around and pass out the flyers to anyone you see.” Replied Bill Bluoni. Dr. Cohen had finally came to Gensokyo. Not to burn or bomb anyone (the last he got help with) but rather to stir up some emotions about the status quo. There was also the fact he wanted to get his hands on a spell card or two. He walked towards a forest that was at the bottom of Youkai Mountain. Dr. Cohen was then approached by Hina Kagiyama, goddess of misfortune. “You seem lost?” approached Hina. What Hina usually do was chase away lost humans and or give them misfortune. Dr. Cohen knew nothing of this. “I’m not lost, but maybe you are.” Said Dr. Cohen, putting a spin on things. “What do you mean I’m the one who’s lost.” Hina replied. “Have you been with or defeated by a woman named, Reimu Hakurei?” asked Dr. Cohen “Yes.” Answered Hina. “Have you heard about AeroSoft?” Dr. Cohen asked again. AeroSoft owned 100% of the Gensokyo gaming market. With a monopoly that big, of course everyone would have at least heard about AeroSoft once. “I think I have.” Hina answered once more. “Have you felt any feelings of oppression?” Dr. Cohen had posed one more question. Hina never had felt anything like that, but thinking about Remiu and AeroSoft’s economic existence. There was some feeling of trapped dread. “I guess, I’m not sure.” Answered Hina Kagiyama. Later that day, Dr. Cohen had interviewed multiple residents about the miko and the gaming company and the feeling of oppression. Among those were Rumia and another youkai, never seen in years…okay she was more of a vengeful spirit. “Have you heard of Reimu Hakurei?” asked Dr. Cohen. “Yes, definitely yes. I have been defeated by here on multiple occasions.” “Have you heard of AeroSoft?” asked Dr. Cohen. “No, but I’m jealous of Reimu’s association with it.” She was referring to how Reimu is protecting something that wasn’t truly native to Gensokyo. “Do you have feelings of oppression?” He asked once more. “Yes.”

“What the hell does Dr. Cohen want with Gensokyo” cried Trevor. A special meeting had been called regarding the safety of Gensokyo’s future. Reimu and Yukari were there, besides Trevor of course. “Another bombing run, I presume.” Reimu suggested, cynically of course. “Do you think it might be that he wants spell cards?” I suggested. “What are spell cards?” asked Trevor. “Here I’ll demonstrate.” said Yukari. We all ran outside and Yukari jumped up and stood in the air and used a spell card aimed for a nearby tree. Border Sign “Quadruple Barrier” danmaku came into being and the tree’s lack of having an ability to dodge anything lead to it being splintered and destroyed. The conflagration dissipated soon after. “You’re supposed to dodge it…” Said Reimu. “That comes with experience.” We expected for Dr. Cohen to leave Gensokyo. Two more men broke in and escaped into Gensokyo, those were his assistants. Months turned into about a year, wanted signs were placed among the land. Keine Kamishirsawa, the guardian of the Human Village was swiftly notified of the suspicious characters. Nothing had happened until Remillia told me something that gave me an unsure feeling.

Patchouli had been somewhat moody for a while at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It all started when Marisa broke in and ended being not stealing any books, but instead had to deal with Patchouli’s suddenly erratic emotions. I asked for her to get some medical help. Then I got a message from Eirin. She was pregnant. I was surprised for such a thing. I felt a surprised unsure happiness. Patchouli has too. Both of us were not sure of what exactly we’ll do. Remillia got super pissed at me. “Anatasios!” she said marching towards me. “What the…” A loud bang had cut her off, probably someone’s computer. “…did you to my Patchouli!” Remillia yelled as we headed into my office. “This tends to happed to two lovers, beside we’re married so this isn’t a problem.” I sadly attempted to console. “It is to me. She works for me. I have to deal with her. I’m the one who pays her. Hell, I’m the one who paid you for all of this” Remilla complained and then pointed to a picture of the Natick building. “I know it’s hard for you. It is going to be hard for me too...” I replied. “Besides, AeroSoft makes and pays you more than you invested into me, once upon a time.” We both sat down and sighed. Remillia starred at the wall, but I got up and looked out the window. (Keeping blinders down enough to not hurt Remillia, you know, being a vampire and everything.) Patchouli’s pregnancy and Dr. Cohen’s disappearance have made me worried for things to come. But the latter’s quietness (especially being in Gensokyo), made me think that he probably got killed or been eaten by a dangerous youkai or something. “What about if she’s unable to work?” I asked. “She can stay there, but if she wants, she can stay with you.” Remillia responed “One issue if she stays…” “If she stays long enough, people are going to wonder if she is an American citizen.” I finished. We both sat silently with chagrin; maybe the problem would make itself clear.

Four months had passed when Dr. Cohen first arrived to Gensokyo for the aforementioned revolution. He had to acclimate himself to the new landscape. The defamation of the miko and AeroSoft had been increasingly receptive of the public. Keine’s warnings about Dr. Cohen’s presents in the land only made matters tense. Dr. Cohen had been training how to use spell cards, hoping on Hina’s back and going into the air and trying out his accomplices’ spell cards. He was amazed by the danmaku’s complex patterns and destructiveness. He wanted to make his own. But had no idea what they should be. But one December evening, the green haired woman asked Dr. Cohen what the strange bronze candlestick. “What is that you’re lighting?” she said. Dr. Cohen was surprised, for people who are spiritually active (he now knew that that’re youkai, but people sounded more relatable), they didn’t knew what he celebrated. “It’s a menorah, Mima…For Hanukah” he responed. “That’s nothing I’ve heard of.” Mima scoffed. “Say, what religion is Reimu.” Asked Cohen. “She’s a miko, a Shinto shrine maiden, I thought you already knew that Remiu’s Shinto?” answered Mima. “Does she use her religion as a weapon?” said an increasingly curious Dr. Cohen. “I guess, I believe she does.” Mima responded with a slight worry. “Hmmm…maybe I could turn the tides.” Dr. Cohen said under his breath, staring at the menorah and thinking of Reimu. The next day, Dr. Cohen began work on a series of extremely vehement spell cards.

Patchouli was now five months into her pregnancy. She started staying at my place more and more. I told her if she going to stay permanently, she had to apply for citizenship. After much convincing, she applied. After about four weeks, she now has dual citizenship (Gensokyo doesn’t have a centralized government, so there was no citizen documentation, but technically Japanese, and American). That took care of the legal side of things concerning with my wife. Now all we had to worry was about our kid. It was in the middle of March when Patchouli gave birth. We couldn’t really get to Gensokyo for the kid to be born and MGH would probably be too much for her, I think. So we opted for a homebirth and that’s where my mom came in. It was a super long day. Luckily, the office was fine without me for the time being and from what I knew; Gensokyo was fine despite Dr. Cohen’s pandering. It was a boy, the baby was born 3/25/2027 (January, 25th 145 for the Gensokyo Lunar Calendar). My mom was kind of roped in a little late (I got her on call for this since February and as so, we had to forego some of the appointments that would be done earlier in pregnancy. We’re coming up with his name. “What about naming it after me?” I suggested. “What about your name? It’s just Frank, right, why have something more to it?” Patchouli told me. “Anatasios. That’s my real first name.” I said. “Anatasios…” Patchouli repeated. “What name is that?” “Greek.” I replied. “Greek eh?” “So should we name him after me, or is that something you don’t like?” I said. “I like the Anatasios part.” Patchy commented. “You don’t have to call him Frank.” I suggested. “Okay, Anatasios Frank, I guess.” So that day forth, Anatasios Frank Topham Junior was born. The next day, Remillia and the Yakumo’s came by. “So that’s your kid huh.” Said Yukari. “Yup.” I replied. “Same name as you?” asked Remillia. “Yes indeed, the Greek part won her over.” “Oh.” Remillia finished. Chen came by the little one. One of Chens tails got in range of his grasp. The newborn grabbed tight as Chen tried to hold in a yelp. There was a knock at the door. I walked by and opened it. “Hello, Reimu” “There’s an emergency, I need to come with me!” I told the party of people, that Reimu needed my assistance on something. “Is about those loud noises last night?” said Ran. “What loud noises?” I asked.

Those loud noises were in fact, artillery fire. During the night when my son was born, something or someone had been bombarding random parts of Gensokyo. Eientei almost got completely burned down, when an artillery shell set fire to a shed and the Human Village got hit pretty badly with several buildings being completely demolished. I noticed that a majority of shells have been seemingly trying to hit Reimu’s shrine, but missed. We were going up the stairs leading to her shrine attempting to explicate the scenario when I heard a distant bang. Then we got to the gate when something whizzed through the air and a large fiery explosion and a loud Kra-pow pierced the air. The shrine was reduced to burning rubble. “I’m so sorry to see this happen” I said, when my hearing went back to normal. “It’s not the first time my shrine got destroyed.” Reimu said reassuringly. We just stood there, until the gate fell and slid down the stairs back down before splintering into a pile of red painted wood.

“Goddamn it!” yelled Dr. Cohen to Rumia. “What! What did I do?!” Rumia panicked. “You’re supposed to fire the artillery during the night!” said Dr. Cohen angrily, pointing to the cannons that resembled those used during the First World War. “Uhhh…Look at this Cohen-sama.” Said Mima. Dr. Cohen grabbed the binoculars from her and looked through them. The Hakurei shrine was obliterated. “I guess I should apologize.” Said Dr. Cohen, his mood was swinging to the other spectrum. “Alright! Without a shrine, she’s weak! Now we can begin stage 2, Invading the land in the name of a new Hakurei free future!” Dr. Cohen proclaimed. “I have a question.” Said Hina. “Why do we have to do all these things just to get even with someone who was with the person who beat you in court, just by a drunken judge, you didn’t lose anything during that debacle?” Continued Hina. “He ruined my school, He ruined my professional life, AND ruined my life as a whole, doesn’t help that that miko is using her religion to beat me. So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That’s the theme of my spell cards.” Answered Dr. Cohen. “What do you mean “that’s the theme of your spell cards?” “Remiu uses the Shinto religion to advance her goals in a somewhat violent fashion. So I’ll be using my own.” “And what would that be?” Hina contested. “Judaism.” Cohen replied. “Oh, what is that?” “I’ll tell you when we defeat Remiu.” Dr. Cohen finished.

Personally, I think he got the wrong idea from Reimu. Reimu is a youkai exterminator. It’s her job to keep the peace (usually with the help of Marisa) around Gensokyo. Dr. Cohen didn’t know this, but I think he was overcome by madness at this point. Maybe it has to do with me getting away with leaving his school unannounced with no bureaucratic stuff involved and he was trying to give me an appropriate repercussion. That’s what made him go nuts; I have no repercussions for truancy so he’s trying to do his job. I can’t help but to feel bad. The only thing keeping me from feeling bad was him destroying Gensokyo. This was beginning of the end…an end to almost a decade’s battle. Next up was no youkai incident, it was a human incident.

Me and Reimu looked onto the chared remains of her shrine. Picking through the debris to salvage what we could find. Her old AeroSoft Super Mega Drive 2 that Marisa gave her as a gift was battered but still intact. The donation box was the only thing untouched, other than the dust kicked up by the explosion. "We must do something permanent about him." said Reimu. "But how in the hell are we going to do that! Dr. Cohen just blew up your shrine." I replied. "With danmaku." Reimu said, pulling out her gohei. She flew up. "I'll go to Marisa's. You meet me there." "Okay then." I said. I went back to the AeroSoft branch and went into the artifical gap machine to call Trevor. "Trevor! Get me a hoverboard and meet me in Gensokyo. Dr. Cohen is going to have his final victory!" I said, hanging up. "Oh shit!" yelled Trevor upon hearing my message. He went into his closet and packed whatever clothes made him look like a terrorist the most. He dashed off into his car, and drove for the AeroSoft HQ.

"This is the final push." "Cohen-sama?" asked Rumia. "What is it?" replied an anxious Dr. Cohen. "Since you have spell cards. Do you know what the spell card rules are?" said Rumia meekly. "Neverheard of them. Keep firing while I'm gone!" Dr. Cohen left. Mima had a contact, who built him a jetpack. The jetpack had a bronze finish with seven rockets. Dr. Cohen was still a human, Incapable of flight unlike the numerous youkai. "He doesn't know them, doesn't he?" Hina asked. "Cohen-sama truely doesn't know what he's getting into." Rumia replied, unsure of Dr. Cohen's fate.

Trevor rushed into the teleporter with the contents with him. He arrived at the branch and left, running towards the Forest of Magic. An artillery shell missed the building and Trevor narrowly escaped the path of the explosion that followed. He continued to run. He changed into his makeshift terrorist outfit and came into Marisa's house. "There you are!" I said, gratefully. "So that's your brother, da ze?" Marisa questioned. "Yes. Anyway, Marisa. You go destroy the artillery cannons while I and Reimu go after Cohen." I explained. "What about me?" Trevor asked. "Warn the rest of Gensokyo. Ask for help where you can!" "Okay. Just where the hell I'm I going?" "Just run around you'll find someone somewhere. Gensokyo isn't that big." I explained to Trevor. Trevor walked out immediately after. I grabbed the hoverboard and left with Reimu. Going into the skies above. "Reimu? What exactly are spell card rules?" "The spell card rules just say that you can't kill anyone and everyone has the right to a fair fight with me or otherwise." "I was thinking, Dr. Cohen might not know those rules exist." Reimu went silent. Either out of the fact that we might get killed or she was concentrating on finding Dr. Cohen. Soon we where stopped by a certain gap hag. "Hello there." greeted Yukari. "Hi Yukari." said an impatient Reimu. "Hello Yukari, just an on the fly question. But do you want to help us find Cohen?" I asked. "Hmmm...sure." said Yukari, omniously. The three of us flew into the early evening. Ready for a danmaku fight. But the uncertainty of death hung in the air, at least for me anyway.

Trevor bursted through the door of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "Stop!" yelled Sakuya. But Trevor continued to run towards where Remilia was, unbeknownst to him. He stopped to catch his breath, scrathed by stumbling through foliage. "Yes?" said Remilia. "Reimu...Frank...Dr. Cohen...Big fight, need help." Trevor pleaded, out of breath. "A big fight against Dr. Cohen?" "Yes..." said Trevor, before being cut off by a loud bang. Trevor ducked to the floor as the distant sound of crumpling wood and tile that followed the explosion. Remillia stayed in her seat unflinching. Sakuya came into the room. But stayed quiet unsure to kick Trevor out or check on the damage. "Sakuya. Go fix whichever part of the mansion just caved in." commaned Remillia. Remillia flew off without a word. The sky was turning dark. Trevor had no choice but to stay. But staying mean't being a sitting duck for the shells that seem to rain down on Gensokyo.

It wasn't very hard for Marisa to find the artillery cannons. The large metal tube with a tire on each side, leaning up into the sky. She whipped out her mini-hakkero and shot a master spark right through the pieces of war equipment. Hina and Rumia scattered to the sky and tried to escape. Not from Marisa, but from Dr. Cohen's ruthlessness. "Come back here!" Marisa called out. But Rumia and Hina had split into two different directions making it difficult to find them. "I lost them. Stupid bakas." Marisa said, to no one in particular. At least she destroyed the artillery. So no more shells will batter Gensokyo. But she had been unaware of the damage. Marisa saw the leftovers of the shrine. Whatever had been salvagable had been made into a pile parralel to the wood and burnt paper wreck. She went back to her place but to find Alice Margatroid there.

Remilla had joined up with Reimu and the others. They flew until they came across a figure. With a bronze back and flames coming out of seven shutes. "Ahhhhh..." said the figure turning around. "Dr. Cohen." I said angrily. "So you came here to be punished for your work." "You destroyed my shrine and you've bombed out Gensokyo!" called out Reimu. "You shouldn't oppress youkai like that." Dr. Cohen became condesending. Reimu's yin-yang orbs appeared beside her. "Let's end it here." I said. "Bring it on, Topham." Dr. Cohen said. Reimu started her barrage of ofuda. While Remillia and Yukari began launching bits of danmaku. I was dodging whatever came at me. Dr. Cohen also did the same. But it didn't take too long for him to use his first spell card. "Second Night "Jeruslem Barrier"" shouted Dr. Cohen as crude bullets of danmaku formed three spining circles, each moving in a different direction. Reimu shot at the barrier, but her ofuda bounced off. Then the barrier exploded! Shooting bits of shattered danmaku across the sky. I nearly fell off my hoverboard. But the shrine maiden, vampire, and gap hag remained unscathed. The fight was begining to get serious. Dr. Cohen flew up and used another spelll card "First Night "Mose's Stance"" Spiritally charged projectiles came rushing out and narrowly Yukari's shoulder. Remiu kept shooting ofuda until it hit Dr. Cohen's jetpack. One of the booster rockets stopped working and he stumbled, upon regaining control. He went for yet another spell card. "Third Night "Shinto Eraser"" Reimu was hit right in the chest. She was bruised but stood her ground. Remillia was hit as well, but was less damaged than Reimu. "Death to Shinto and its idiosyncrasies!" yelled Dr. Cohen. "You bastard!" replied Reimu, and she pulled out one of her spell cards. "First Card "Fantasy Orb String"" and string of orbs appeared! Dr. Cohen was hit, his left shoulder was bruised. Yet his hatred of Gensokyo, Shinto, and ultimately AeroSoft kept him in a fighting spirit. "Fourth Night "Scarlet Blight"" Remillia was badly hit and she fell to the ground. She landed back first onto the hard ground, creating a loud crunching noise. She tried to get up, but her broken back wouldn't allow it. Yukari hit Dr. Cohen in the back inside one of her gaps, disabling yet another booster. "Stop it Edward!" I said. "This is not how you should be!" "Your biased court comeback! Your resilience to my revenge and my avengence of Reed Academy!" Dr. Cohen said, having none of it. "You truely are an evil man. Using your religion to destroy Gensokyo." "Reimu murders youkai with her Shinto powers! But Judaism is stronger, faster, better." Dr. Cohen poorly reasoned. "Its not true!" I said "Have it your way Topham! You retarded autisic punk! The same goes with your parents." Dr. Cohen grabbed for another spell card. "Fiveth Night "Topham's Punishment"" The deadly danmaku passed by me. The hoverboard groaned from the sheer intensity of movement. Attempting to break free. The danmaku knocked me off my board. Yukari caught me and gapped me back onto the board. Danmaku bullets and missle were spraying everywhere at this point. (They weren't actual bullets and missiles that outside world millitaries used, it's just to describe their behavior). "Sixth Night "Hakurei's End"" The spell card knocked out Reimu and she too fell to the ground but her fall was broken by a tree. But the branches proded and stabbed Reimu as she tumbled to ground on her stomach. Sustained several broken bones and major bruising, maybe some internal bleeding of some kind. She was unconscious "Seventh Night "Yakumo's Death"" The danmaku aimed straight for Yukari and she too was knocked unconscious. She landed on the ground flat on her ass. Before faceplanting the ground hunched over. "You friends are out!" said Dr. Cohen. "After I'm done with you. I'll finish off your insurgencies and I'll takeover Gensokyo for the benefit of me and mankind!" He continued. "You're dead to me, like you always have been to me." I said, pissed off at his aggresive manner. Dr. Cohen reached for one of the his spell cards when Flandre Scarlet appeared! "Taboo "Cranberry Trap"" Almost undodgable danmaku came raining down. Knocking out one of Dr. Cohen's jetpack boosters. "Taboo "Four of a Kind"" Flandre split into three other Flandre's. The four Flandres shot danmaku. I came up with a plan. "Hey Flandre!" I screamed. "Can I borrow the Lævateinn?" "Why?" she replied. "I'm going to go in for the kill!" I flew by her and grabbed the Lævateinn. It was a tad hard to handle but the situation was dire. "Taboo "Kagome, Kagome"" Danmaku ensnarled Dr. Cohen and took out another booster. The jetpack was straining to hold the increasingly injured Dr. Cohen. Dr. Cohen retailiated with "Fourth Night "Scarlet Blight"" but to no avail. Flandre was too strong and powerful for Edward to handle. But her three other selves dissapated. Dr. Cohen struggled to stay fighting. Knowing that Gensokyo's end will come. He thought to himself "Cohen wills it!". Another jetpack booster stopped working and actually broke off, almost hitting Remillia's head. "Taboo "Maze of Love"" Dr. Cohen's last auxillary booster broke down. His legs bore smallish medium gashes. Scars and cuts dot his body. His clothes were ripping away. Flandre launched more danmaku and I flew up high as high as the hoverboard allowed me. I held the Lævateinn and jumped off the hoverboard, directly above Dr. Cohen. I held it downward hoping to end Dr. Cohen, it didn't hae to end this way. But his own stubborness lead to his insanity of destroying Gensokyo and me. The court case, the bombings, the Hakurei Shrine's destruction. This was the only way to stop a potentialy deadly war with the man. I said the most awesome, yet strangest thing. " Gensō gō no namae ni wa, shobatsu sa remasu yo! (In the name of Gensokyo, you'll be punished!)". The danmaku directly hit me and Dr. Cohen as the Lævateinn touched him. I blacked out.

I woke up. There was whiteness, I got up and wandered off until I came across two chairs one was occupied by an exact copy of me, except dressed in leather, lots of it. "Who are you?" I asked. "I'm Neo. The embodiment of your own mind in a personable manner." The look a like responded. "I'm dead?" "You are neither dead or alive. You have knocked yourself out pretty hard. As such your life is hanging for dear life and I have some options for you." Neo replied. "I have are two pills. The red pill ends your life and your sipirt shall travel across the Sanzu River to be judged. The blue pill returns you to reality." He explained. I immediately took the blue pill. "Everyone awaits you in the real world." Neo said, before everything faded to white, then flashed to black.

I opened my eyes. I look around, I'm in Eientei. There was an IV in my right arm. My legs felt stiff to move. Reisen checked upon me. "Eirin! Frank's awake!" Reisen called out. Eirin rushed in and saw me my conscious body. "Frank. You been here for about eighteen hours. You've survived quite the fall." Eirin said. "Where's Reimu and the others?" I asked. "They're in the other room." Eirin replied. I got up and walked to the room next door. Reimu had a large cast around her waist. Remillia was somewhat woozy from the pain killers that Eirin gave her. Yukari was asleep, but an ice pack was bandaged across the side of her face. "If we where all knocked out. Who brought us here?" Eirin responded, "Flandre and your brother carried you four in. You were all severly injured. Quite unusual for a danmaku fight." "Dr. Cohen was ruthless. It was his lack of understanding for the spell card rules that lead to us almost becoming dead." I explained. I had clearly remembered the night's battle but the ending was fuzzy. I asked where Dr. Cohen's body was. Eirin said that it was just me, Yukari, Reimu, and Remillia. Dr. Cohen has to be dead. It was just impossible for him to just get up and move away.

"Is it finished?" Mima asked. "Yes." said the figure. "This time I'll get the Hakurei Shrine. Maybe untouched this time. Thanks Rika." "Your welcome Mima." said Rika as she pulled down the lever causing volts of electricity to enter the human cyborg combination. "That should do it." Rika finished. The half human, half robot woke up. "Where I'm I?" said the body with a metallic reverb. "Cohen-sama. Your upgrade is complete, welcome back." "Ahhhh..." Said Dr. Cohen as moved his new robotic arm. "That asshole Topham will pay and his Shinto bitch too!" Dr. Cohen proclaimed. Dr. Cohen was now Mecha Cohen. A being hellbent on destroying Gensokyo for his own gain. To avenge himself by destroy Frank Topham!

Things went back to normal at AeroSoft. The games were selling, the hardware was selling, and AeroSoft fronted the money needed to rebuild the damage. The shrine was rebuilt, the Human Village was repaired, and the Scarlet Devil Mansion's broken section of roof was well...reroofed. This was the first human incident in Gensokyo's history. Dr. Cohen had proven that youkai aren't the only ones that can cause trouble. This ends Dr. Cohen's reign of terror upon Gensokyo. AeroSoft continued onward and forward. Bye for now.-Anatasios Frank Topham Senior, CEO